Partnership with World Trade Centre Toronto to deliver award-winning program empowering small and medium-sized businesses to export
The Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the launch of the Trade Accelerator Program (TAP) in the Niagara Region. Winner of the 2018 Ontario Export Award for Export Excellence, TAP debuted locally on October 4 with an intensive two-day workshop to orient participating companies to the program.
Operated in partnership with the Toronto Region Board of Trade’s World Trade Centre Toronto, TAP is an innovative, dynamic workshop that provides companies with access to Canada’s top exporting advisors, resources and contacts, giving them the training and support they need to scale up, develop and execute an export plan.
Since its launch in October 2015, TAP has expanded to eight major centres across Canada. TAP graduates report an average growth of 42 percent in export sales one year after participation, and more than 85 percent of participants have entered new export markets since completing the course.
“Our Trade Accelerator Program has yielded amazing results for more than 600 companies across Canada, helping them reach new markets and achieve their growth objectives,” said Leigh Smout, Executive Director of World Trade Centre Toronto. “We look forward to helping more small- and medium-sized businesses throughout southern Ontario build their export capacity and go global.”
The launch of TAP in the Niagara Region was made possible through a $5-million investment from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), which allowed World Trade Centre Toronto to expand the program to 15 additional communities across southern Ontario. A $1.7-million investment through Innovation, Science and Economic Development’s Mobilizing SMEs to Export initiative will also take TAP into unserved northern communities across Canada as part of the federal government’s Export Diversification Strategy.
“Our global brand is strong once again and the world wants—and needs—more Canada. Our investment in the Trade Accelerator Program will help nearly 1,000 small- and medium-sized businesses export to 1.5 billion customers through Canada’s many trade agreements,” said the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion. “Our government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is delivering on our commitment to help businesses start up, scale up and access new markets.”
TAP is also supported by its National Partners: Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Export Development Canada (EDC) and Air Canada Cargo.
About World Trade Centre Toronto
World Trade Centre Toronto (WTC-T) is the trade services arm of the Toronto Region Board of Trade. As a member of the World Trade Centers Association, WTC-T creates unparalleled global access for the Toronto region’s business community with its connection to 327 branded properties and trade services associations in 90 countries. WTC-T provides targeted international trade advisory services and expertise through comprehensive research, trade education, strategy building workshops, outbound and inbound trade missions and valuable connections to experts and networks. Learn more at wtctoronto.com and follow us at @WTC-TO.
About FedDev Ontario
FedDev Ontario works to advance and diversify the southern Ontario economy through funding opportunities and business services that support innovation and growth in Canada’s most populous region. The Agency has delivered impressive results, which are reflected in businesses that are creating innovative technologies, improving their productivity, growing their revenues, and in the economic advancement of communities across the region. For more information, visit www.FedDevOntario.gc.ca.
